The number of new brands popping up in 400 scale continues to rise, but the majority are using 3rd parties for the manufacturing process and moulds (either Aeroclassics, HX Model, JC Wings, Panda Models or Jet Hut). Kylin Model looks to be different as it is creating its own moulds from the start and they have just released the first photos of them.
Kylin Model appeared for the first time on June 10th announcing their first releases and putting out this statement:
The first releases included a trio of China Airlines 747s, which judging by the fact they also have flaps down variants will be using the HX Models mould:
The remaining 5 models were 2 EVA Air A330s, a China Eastern Skyteam A330 and 2 China Eastern A320s. Not enormously surprising or exciting, however both of these types are to utilise new moulds made by Kylin.
Today (July 30th) Kylin have just released the first photos of their new A330-200 and A320-200 moulds on WeChat. Both the moulds look promising. Certainly the A320 appears to already be superior to the JC Wings / Gemini version and the Phoenix versions. Whether it is on par with the NG Models and Panda Models variants I guess we’ll see. Interestingly the sample has Sharklets despite both the announced A320s being wingtip fence equipped:
The A330 mould also looks decent, with my only concern being the apparent shortness of the main undercarriage. It appears to be better than the JC Wings / Gemini, Aviation400 and Phoenix versions, although once again whether it can compete with the NG Models version remains to be seen.
There’s definitely an argument that more A320s and A330s aren’t really what 400 scale needs and it appears that Kylin will be another brand focusing mainly on the Chinese domestic market, but their appearance does illustrate that within China the 400 scale model market remains highly competitive with not just Kylin, but also C Models, working on an A330 at the moment.
